Microline for end-of-line solutions: partnership with Paperdì


Microline, a Bologna-based company specialising in the development of packaging solutions for convenience goods, enjoys a close partnership with Paperdì, a leading player in the tissue sector. The partnership focuses on the supply of end-of-line machines that place hospital paper rolls, towels or toilet paper in boxes.

Microline is based near Bologna, in the heart of Italy’s Packaging Valley. It has twenty years’ experience in the design and marketing of automatic packaging machines. The company has devised solutions offering superlative versatility, safety and efficiency to meet the needs of a great variety of sectors and products. Modularity is undoubtedly the concept that sets Microline products apart. Our machines consist of a basic model that can be customised by simply adding dedicated modules or options.

Paperdì is a Naples-based company that has been in the Tissue business since 1989. It operates a paper mill in Pietramelara and a paper converting plant with ten production lines in San Nicola la Strada, both in the province of Caserta. Paperdì’s strengths, which have made it a major name in Italy and abroad, include its broad portfolio of items, backed by ongoing research into the development of new products to meet the demands of a very extensive and diverse market. Paperdì sets great store by the flexibility, efficiency and quality of its products.

The partnership: how it came about and developed

Microline’s know-how, built up over the years, has fuelled the continuous expansion of its machinery range in the Tissue products packaging field, which is also Paperdì’s natural habitat. In 2018, Paperdì’ commissioned Microline to design and manufacture its first order for secondary packaging with the aid of its own specialist staff. The growing trust and cooperation between both companies has led to the supply of two further machines to date. The first order was for a side-loading case packer that was fitted to an interfolded towel and toilet paper line. The second was for a dedicated high-performance line for hospital paper rolls production, while the third order was fitted downstream of a state-of-the-art interfolded towel and toilet paper line. A few months ago, testing was completed and the satisfaction was mutual. Three fully functional, high-tech, high-performance plants were built. These were all in line with Industry 4.0 principles, fully automatic and connected to the rest of the plant.

The challenge was to make the machines flexible and versatile as well as high- performing and efficient. The unit dedicated to the secondary packaging of hospital paper rolls can work with three different formats. The same applies to the interfolded product packaging machines, which can handle interfolded towels and toilet paper. All this has been achieved without sacrificing performance. The hospital paper roll case packer can handle up to 70 products per minute, while the units for interfolded products can handle up to 120 packs of interfolded toilet paper per minute or 80 packs of interfolded towels per minute.

“The partnership with Microline – said Mario di Leva, Paperdì’s production manager – is relatively recent, but it is based on a solid foundation and a shared vision. The quality of the machines and units supplied by the Bologna-based company has lived up to our expectations, as has the technical support, which has always been prompt and spot-on.”